Assessing Receptivity to and Use of Evidence-Based Treatments in Rape Crisis Centers

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Sexual violence perpetrated against both children and adults is pervasive. The emotional impact of these traumatic experiences often leads to the development of mental health difficulties such as PTSD, depression and substance abuse with high levels of comorbidity. Untreated trauma, mental illnesses, and substance use disorders leave survivors at risk of physical and sexual revictimization.

Although rape crisis centers (RCC) have been providing services for 40 years and routinely serve children, adolescents and adult survivors (male and female) of childhood sexual abuse, sexual assault and rape, there has been no systematic assessment of their methods or effectiveness in treating the trauma-induced mental health problems so commonly observed. Nationally, so little is known about the treatment of survivors who are victims of violence that the National Resource Council has indicated that describing and evaluating the effectiveness of current services is among the most important areas of research on violence against women. The proposed study is designed to begin to fill this knowledge gap.

Aims:• To identify administrator and clinician desired treatment outcomes for Texas RCC clients.• To identify the assessment and treatment evaluation tools that Texas rape crisis programs are currently using with sexual trauma survivors.• To identify the types of interventions that rape crisis programs in Texas are using and assess the extent to which they appear to be trauma-informed and evidence-based. • To identify the clinician and organizational characteristics that could inhibit or facilitate the adoption of evidence-based interventions in rape crisis centers.